


Halcyon Days

by chailover



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24853003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chailover/pseuds/chailover
Summary: (AU) Kanda had never been one for good-byes.
Relationships: Kanda Yuu & Allen Walker, Kanda Yuu & Lavi, Kanda Yuu & Lavi & Lenalee Lee & Allen Walker, Kanda Yuu & Mugen
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Halcyon Days

**Author's Note:**

> Original notes:  
> Off-screen character death. The fic that inspired the writing of Tales of Happily Ever Afters, due to its very vague air of melancholy. 
> 
> New notes: Not sure why I decided at the time to italicize some Japanese words and not others. The mysteries of past-me...And this is AU because as far as I know, Kanda has not kicked it yet, despite all signs that it was imminent way back when in the manga.

**

It was a small town, maybe about a day or two's travel from Edo. The defeat of the Earl and the long cleanup of the remaining Akuma meant that even such a strategically advantageous location remained sparsely populated, but it was a safe place, and made better every day.

Everyone knew their neighbors and even though times were not exactly easy, it was better than it ever had been in living memory. The people were tough and hard-working; They helped their neighbors, they were kind to outsiders, they raised each others' children and took in orphans, because there were just too many.

And because it was such a small town, and so closely knit, everyone was still grieving the week after the wake, when a foreigner arrived at the gates.

**

He was tall and had the town not been so close to Edo, where foreigners often milled in the streets, many would have been shocked at the color of his hair, the brilliance of his one eye. But as it was, they were more used to this unusual sight than many of their countrymen, and that was not the cause of raised eyebrows.

The cause: the foreigner ( _gaijin_ ) came and asked for directions to the dojo in flawless Japanese. There was an easy smile on his face that barely wavered when his question was greeted with a blank look tinged with consternation.

"What is your business with the dojo, good friend?" The local that the _gaijin_ accosted asked, not without a noticeable tremor in her voice. "There are no lessons being offered right now."

"I'm not here for lessons, good madam," the foreigner responded with all the politeness that she should be accorded. "I was invited here by a friend, he informed me in his letter to go to the dojo if I wanted to see him."

**

Master Sato of the Sato Dojo was the one that greeted the foreigner who seemed to know their customs as well as they did. He took off his shoes at the threshold and did not appear surprised when he was led to the back of the modest dojo, to the equally small cemetery.

After they burned some incense for the one that had passed, the flame-haired _gaijin_ took out a neatly folded letter. "Master Sato," he said quietly, "My friend told me to give this to you should he happen to be absent on my arrival."

Sato took the letter and smoothed open the folds. He read it with a solemn expression on his chiseled face, and then nodded. "I had thought it odd that Kanda-san seemed so...prepared. His death was very sudden for one so young, but perhaps it was not so unexpected after all." He turned toward the dojo. "Please, come with me."

**

It was a plain room with _tatami_ mats on the floor, the bedding folded neatly in the corner and a low writing desk next to it. There were two things immediately familiar to Lavi's eye - the hourglass shape of the vase that held the lotus on the desk, and the matte black of Mugen on the folded blankets.

"Kanda-san indicated you are to have the sword." Sato gestured to Mugen. "I admit to a small curiosity, as several students have attempted to move it in order to place it in the dojo's shrine, but..."

"But?"

"Those who have touched it have been rendered unconscious. When they wake, they say they saw horrible specters, and refuse to touch the sword again." Sato folded his hands in his flowing sleeves.

"Is that so?" Lavi murmured, cautiously reaching out a hand to the sword. He wondered if the phenomenon was caused by the Innocence fragment, or by Mugen itself. When his fingers touched the cool metal, there was a moment when the world seemed to curve, and became briefly three dimensional before it went back to normal. Mugen was heavier than he expected, Lavi had the rather maudlin thought that it carried the weight of Kanda's life.

**

Lavi ended up staying, first with the thought of just one night, which then grew into almost a week. There were no Akuma to threaten the town or the Innocence, and he was not in a hurry to return to Headquarters. Whatever Kanda had written in that letter made it easier for Lavi - Master Sato and the rest of the dojo treated him like an honored guest, but it held welcome as if he were one of their own.

Mugen rested in a decorative sword-rack that Master Sato had put in the guest room where Lavi stayed. Once lessons resumed, Lavi had the chance to wander through the dojo and watch the students. The older ones went about their business with a somber air, and the younger ones were openly depressed. When questioned, it seemed like Kanda had been a favorite instructor amongst the attendees.

At night, he sat in his room with the rice paper screens opened toward the garden, listening to the sound of crickets in the night. It was early summer, the night air still retaining a weak bite. Mugen sat in his lap, and Lavi thought he could see the figure of a woman near the koi pond, dressed in a black kimono laced with silver.

**

He learned this: Kanda taught swordsmanship to the intermediate and advanced students. He occasionally gave pointers to the beginner instructors. He never smiled, but was never mean despite having the reputation of being extremely strict. Most of the unmarried women in town between the ages of 14 and 40 had crushes on him, and almost all the men were jealous and grudgingly respectful.

He helped with chores around the dojo, and made delicious soba. He went to Edo every two weeks, and would not decline errands that the other townspeople requested. He showed no sign of being anything but healthy, and was quite possibly the strongest swordsman in the dojo.

He died in his sleep, almost two full weeks ago. There was no sign of struggle or foul play, or even pain. His body was cremated and the sutras read over the ashes.

Lavi filled in the spaces in between. This was the 'long term mission' that had been the response whenever Kanda's absence was brought up at Home. This peaceful, quiet place where the largest conflict was young trainees fighting over dinner, was where Kanda chose to rest. The vase that held the lotus was empty - not even withered petals remained to show what had once housed Kanda's life. He wondered briefly how accurate Kanda got at gauging his time, because the letter addressed to him appeared to have been sent out less than three days before Kanda passed.

The woman in the black kimono folded down into a perfect seiza beside him. Lavi had figured out by the second day that no one else can see her.

She spoke for the first time, a quiet, smooth voice with the barest hint of an accent. Her English was perfect. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she inquired politely, her black eyes mildly curious.

Lavi drank his tea. What was he looking for in the first place? "No," he finally had to conclude. "I haven't."

**

The third day dawned bright and clear and loud: Bright and clear because it was that time of the year when nearly every day was perfect, weather-wise, and loud, because there was a commotion at the gate. Lavi blinked when he came into view of the source.

"...and we were directed here by - Lavi!" Linali said, relief coloring her voice (and her not-very fluent Japanese). Beside her, Allen was still trying to discreetly hide his very conspicuous white hair, much to the delight of the younger trainees, all of whom were trying to peer under his hood even as he was trying to tug it down.

"Linali? Beansprout?" Lavi hadn't meant to say the second, but the _moyashi_ just slipped out, and that set the children to giggling and muttering 'moyashi, moyashi' repeatedly. Allen colored even as Master Sato raised an eyebrow.

"LAVI, it's ALLEN." He snapped and it sent the children skittering, not understanding the words but recognizing the tone. "Sorry, sorry!" he yelped, then switched over to softer tones, " _gomen nasai_."

**

It was hard to break the news - Allen and Linali had apparently heard from Komui about Lavi's presence in Japan and knew it involved Kanda somehow. They were in China, finishing a mission, and received permission to stop by.

Lavi wondered why Komui approved this side-trip, knowing that the truth would only make Linali cry. Then again, it might be a plot by the Chief Officer to make Lavi the bearer of bad news - he wouldn't put it past Komui.

In contrast, Allen was pitching a fit. Lavi almost pitied the trainees who were looking on wide-eyed at the exorcist yelling in the cemetery at the wooden marker bearing Kanda's name.

"--and you didn't even have the decency to come to our wedding, you ass!" Allen shook a fist, "I can't believe it! You have no manners! I bet you-you-" he stuttered, trying to think of something suitably insulting, "I bet you were raised by _wolves_!"

"Allen," Linali murmured, pulling at the other exorcist's sleeves. Allen's bottom lip trembled.

"You are a jerk! A world-class, grade A, JERK!"

**

"Do you feel better now?" Lavi asked, handing Allen a towel.

Allen shook his head and mopped at his face, shoulders slumped. "Not really." He managed a weak smile. "I'm sorry, Lavi. It's good to see you...how're you holding up?"

Lavi shrugged. "I'm fine, as always." The woman's question echoed in his mind. _Did you find what you were looking for?_ "I didn't have to do anything, just take Mugen back to Headquarters. It's very typical of Yuu to do things like this," he said for Allen's benefit, "Don't let it bother you."

Allen's smile turned sad. "Aah."

Silence. In the corner of Lavi's eye, he saw the woman in the black kimono wander to where Linali was standing off in the distance amongst the dead, saying her own goodbyes.

"Do you remember what Kanda said," Allen started in a soft, halting voice, "before he left? That one time we had the argument in the hall?"

Forgetting was an act that Lavi was incapable of. "Yes. He said that you were a fool."

Allen laughed, it fell pathetically short of true amusement. "He said ' _You can't save everybody_ '. I wonder if this is what he meant."

Lavi felt strangely free of guilt as Allen cried and he did not. Gently, he patted the other exorcist - his friend, his brother-in-arms - on the back. "It's all right, Allen," he said, and held back on the words on the tip of his tongue - _I think Yuu wouldn't have wanted you to save him_ \- because that was true, but not quite. Lavi tried again, and this time the words felt right. "I don't think Yuu needed saving."

**

Lavi surmised this: He was looking for closure, more than he was looking for Kanda. He knew where he stood with everyone else that his 49th alias had touched - friend, ally, enemy, foil, annoyance, and the list went on and on. But with Kanda, he was something more than friends, less than brothers, beyond comrade-in-arms, almost kindred spirits. It stubbornly refused to be categorized and as such, remained an open item, delaying the period to be written at the end of 'Lavi'.

And now Lavi was starting to think that it might not be so bad for it to remain that way. He thought that even though Kanda died alone, he was not lonely. He might have ran out of time, but he was at peace. He might not have had the chance to grow old, but he was happy.

It was a lesson that Lavi really should take to heart.

Allen and Linali had departed, eyes a bit red-rimmed but smiling. They had wrangled out a promise from Lavi - he would be there to be the fun uncle to their children (Komui would be the crazy one. Yuu was supposed to be the scary one, but it was probably better for the kids that he wouldn't have the chance to terrorize their little hearts). Lavi wrapped Mugen up in cloth and picked up his own suitcase, thanking Master Sato for his hospitality with all the respect he was due. The woman in the black kimono walked with him, out of the town, into Edo, and onto the boat that would take him to Shanghai, and from there the long trek to Headquarters.

The sea breeze stirred his hair and he glanced to his left - the sword, and the woman. "Let's go, Mugen."

***  
End

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Lavi with a serious perspective has always messed with my head. He and Kanda were my favorite characters, and I hope that if I go back to the manga I'll see some more character development. Still slogging through all my old DGM stuff, I had more than I expected... 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy, everyone!


End file.
